The reputation of Vietnamese shrimp has been restored in Japan after the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development banned farmers from using the antibiotic enrofloxacin in shrimp breeding.
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Workers of Fimex Vietnam Co process shrimp for export. Vietnamese shrimp have regained their reputation in the Japanese market after a ban on using antibiotic enrofloxacin during breeding. — VNA/VNS Photo An Dang
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The Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors said a warning from Japan reported that only one consignment from Viet Nam was found to be infected with enrofloxacin during March, a good signal for the shrimp export industry.
Association representative Nguyen Thai Phuong said the result reflected efforts by exporters, shrimp raisers and authorities in controlling residues of enrofloxacin in unprocessed shrimp.
Japanese authorised agencies had raised the control level to 100 per cent of import consignments from Viet Nam, Phuong said. Japanese importers had conducted tests on processed Vietnamese shrimp in private laboratories in Japan and if any enrofloxacin residues were found, consignments of shrimp would be shipped back to Viet Nam immediately.
Such a measure would cause great losses to the exporter and blacken their name in Japan and possibly on the world market if the situation did not improve, Phuong said.
Exporters had been warned to make sure their products were not infected with enrofloxacin residues, she said.
Many shrimp breeders had since stopped using enrofloxacin in shrimp feed.
Japan remains the biggest shrimp export market for Viet Nam and shrimp exports account for the highest proportion of the total seafood export turnover of the country. Meanwhile, purchasing power from key importers like the EU and the US has declined. In addition, abundant shrimp supplies from India and central American countries have weighed on shrimp export prices.
According to the latest statistics, shrimp exports to Japan in the first two months of this year reached US$67.5 million, a year-on-year increase of nearly 12 per cent. In February alone, shrimp earned an export turnover of $34.9 million or a year-on-year increase of 50 per cent.